Turning the Tide on Suicide

What We Do

Our mission is to eradicate suicide in the communities we serve and provide the tools and resources for other communities to do the same.

Through the Stop Suicide USA Campaign and the Intervene Challenge we are raising public awareness about the epidemic crisis of suicide and training others to do what we do. 13,000 compassionate individuals across the nation have taken the Challenge to gain the skills that save lives.

Suicide rates are on the rise in communities across the USA. But few people ever ask THE ONE QUESTION that can save a life. Those that are trained, do! Get the training that saves lives!

Through AFM911 we provide direct and rapid response suicide intervention for Veterans and First Responders in crisis throughout the Southern Crescent of Atlanta, Georgia. Since inception in 2012 AFM has conducted more than 800 successful suicide interventions.

Listen Learn Lead™

AFM is the exclusive provider of the Listen Learn Lead Suicide Intervention Training model and offers a variety of curriculums under the umbrella of the Intervene Challenge. Trained people save people. Get the training that saves lives. Better yet organize an event for your community. We love to partner with other non-profits working to eradicate the epidemic of suicide.

Background

In July of 2010 at the age of 47, Kenneth Koon returned to military service. He alone, knew his true motivation – get deployed and die by enemy fire. A series of tragic events had put him in a tailspin of darkness and despair, the culminating event being the life flight of his third son after he was burned over 90% of his arms and half his face in a backyard explosion. Ken was broken from the crushing thoughts that Chad had been hurt on his watch; he felt responsible. Through what Ken now calls “divine intervention”, the Military Entrance Processing Station misplaced his file. The Guard unit he had hoped to deploy with went without him. The only vacancy he could fill was in a Reserve Training unit where he was put in charge of suicide intervention training.

It was his oldest son, MaCrae, a 19-year-old Airman that saved his life when he boldly asked, “Dad are you thinking of suicide?” The moment MaCrae asked the question, Ken was filled with an overwhelming sense of hope. He was not alone; someone knew. A strong desire to overcome replaced the thoughts of darkness. It was a turning point for Ken that renewed the Chaplain and set him on a journey to save others just as he had been saved. MaCrae, had learned to ask the question because he had been trained in suicide intervention as an Airman.

Training saves lives and no one I know is more passionate about saving lives and teaching others to do the same than my dear friend and mentor, Chaplain Kenneth Koon. For five years as a member of his Unit Ministry Team we sustained a ZERO suicide rate in a Brigade with Soldiers in ten states. In 2015, Ken was called to a Command serving Soldiers in 40 states and I had the honor of picking up where he left off. He left a legacy in our unit that continues today.

Ken knows firsthand that the solution to the epidemic of suicide is the training of compassionate community members. He has developed a proven and replicable model of intervention and a caring network of nearly 13,000 individuals that have participated in the Intervene Challenge.

If you want to make a difference in your community that saves lives take the Intervene Challenge or organize a Challenge for your community and join the movement that is building a culture of health for all people.

Chaplain (Major) Michael Hildreth

Brigade Chaplain, US Army Reserve

Chaplains MIchael Hildreth and Kenneth Koon served together for five years in a US Army Reserves.

Annual LOSS Walk

Fayetteville, GA 2019

The Second Annual LOSS WALK, Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors is scheduled for March 23, 2019, the first Saturday of Spring.

Stay tuned for more details coming soon!

Sponsors and Volunteers needed. Contact us today to learn more about how you can make a difference!

Your support makes the mission Possible

As a non profit 501C3 organization, Armed Forces Mission relies upon the generosity of our many community partners to sustain the work of saving lives and training others to do the same.

AFM has achieved the Platinum Level with Guidestar, the highest rating possible for financial transparency.

Give through our Secure and Direct Giving Portal or through the Network for Good Portal.

AFM provides Donors, Volunteers, and Advocates a platform to eradicate suicide and transform lives. We are training thousands who are now able to help individuals at risk find an authentic power to choose life. As a Fireman with 10 years of service put it, "AFM has ignited a culture of health that literally saved my life."

At AFM we will go where we can and do all we can to see that no one dies by suicide.

Thank You Sustaining Partners

Tremendous thanks to all our Community Partners, Families, Individuals, and Volunteeers that make the mission possible. Because of you lives are being saved and thousands are being trained to build communites that are filled with hope and resilience.

We invite you to join the movement as a community partner to turn the tide on suicide!